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Adding a Solar Array: It’s More Science than Plug-and-Play

This week we have a great guest post from Christine Maddox. Currently she is pursuing a Master’s degree from the University of Texas as well as blogging for www.4nannies.com. She primarily loves to write about anything related to parenting, kids, nanny care, but also has an interest in solar power. While we have covered many topics revolving around alternative […]

Insulation Issue, the fix & prevention

Last Wednesday as you may recall I showed you this picture from a house that had already passed the pre-drywall inspection which any rater or inspector out there could tell you should have failed. This leads to a few questions, just how did it pass, why did it happen, what was the fix & more even more importantly […]

3 reasons to consider an ESA

This week we have a guest post from Tina Davis. Tina is a freelance writer and blogger that writes on numerous topics like travel, alternative energy, environmental data resources, career advancement & even home design. When she asked if she could write about ESA’s, my first thought was that we really don’t do much related to commercial here. With […]

Wacky Weds: Predrywall inspection – really

Oops, not only does this not meet codes, but as this house is going after ENERGY STAR… So how did it get past the pre-drywall inspection without this being caught? What’s the fix? What’s up with the delamination of the foam? Or maybe the better question is how do you as a builder, rater or homeowner […]

Home Warranties: What is it, and is it Right for You?

This week we have an interesting guest post from Mike Thomas who is a private contractor for HomeWarrantyDeals.com. He states he enjoys DIY projects, college football and is also “deeply passionate about restoring antique homes.” With no further ado… When I mention my past contracting work with home warranty companies in conversation, I often get a […]

My Take: Profoundly Disconnected, the Industry, & Me?

A little over a week ago, Mike Rowe was the keynote speaker (if your pressed for time – scroll to 14:35) at the Skills USA Opening Ceremonies. It is a pretty good talk about the Skills gap, 3 million unfilled jobs, why this is the greatest country, and his new project to help solve this […]

SkillsUSA & some guy named Mike Rowe… The recap

This is my third year making it to SkillsUSA for the National Championships and I guarantee you it won’t be my last. While many conventions & events seemingly get stale that doesn’t seem to be an issue here especially with so many stories to tell – whether it is a carpenter leading his team from […]

Wacky Weds: Propane as a Refrigerant?

This is an infrared shot of a propane tank I used in a class seeing if they could understand what they saw. I got to admit after going over the basics they did pretty good. Ahhh but what about the title, well would you believe that some HVAC companies are using propane as a refrigerant for […]

Wacky Weds: Maintenance shmaintenace

Seeing I was spending the week at SkillsUSA I wasn’t sure I would have a Wacky Wednesday piece, but leave it to a hotel I stayed at in St Louis to give us a free be. Obviously changing out the air filter is not part of the maids duties… Of course part of the issue […]